Cassandra's First Valentine
by Imagination-Parade
Summary: Jake wonders why Cassandra hasn't gone all out with decorating the Annex for Valentine's Day. Nothing but Jassandra fluff here, folks.


_Just a quick story I whipped up for summer-smells on Tumblr, who was sick and wanted Jassandra fluff. I know I'm a little early for Valentine's Day, but oh well. As always, I own nothing. Enjoy!_

* * *

Jacob Stone entered the Annex on February 13th, the last weekday before Valentine's Day, expecting a plethora of hearts and glitter and _pink_. Truth be told, he had been expecting that all week, but as he entered the Annex that Friday morning, he found that their resident holiday decorator, Cassandra Cillian, had once again failed to acknowledge the impending holiday, save for the deep red tights wrapped around her slender legs.

"Huh," he said involuntarily as he entered the normal-looking room.

Cassandra, who was nursing a cup of tea over a book at the center table, looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," he said. "Nothing. Just after seeing what you did to this place on Christmas and then New Year's, I've been expecting a bit of a Valentine's explosion in here."

"Oh," she nodded, turning back to her book.

"Not a fan?" he asked.

"I wouldn't say that, exactly," she said. "I appreciate the idea behind Valentine's Day, of course, but I've never really had a Valentine, not even when I was a kid. My parents didn't believe it was _appropriate_ for them to get their daughter Valentine's presents, so…" The silence hung in the air for a moment before she added, "I can do decorations, if you'd like. It might be a little late now, though."

"No, no," Jake said. "That's okay. I don't…really have one, either. So where's everyone else?"

"Flynn ran off last night; I think he's working on a surprise for Colonel Baird. She should be here any minute. Jenkins is in the kitchen, and, you know, the hour is still in the single-digits, so it's too early for Ezekiel," Cassandra said.

"Right," Jake laughed. "Jenkins is in the kitchen, you said?"

Cassandra nodded. "Why?"

"I just need his help with something," Jake said. "I'll see you in a bit."

After they returned from their case-of-the-day, they found Flynn waiting not-so-patiently at the center table. Eve, tired from the mission, instantly perked up at the sight of him.

"Librarian," she said with a grin.

"Guardian," he replied. He put on a teasing grin of his own and said, "You came back alive."

"Yes," Eve said. "So nice of you to show up _after_ the day has been saved."

"Oh, pish posh, I was busy whipping up a Valentine's Day something that I think you're really going to enjoy," Flynn said. He met them by the back door and removed the flower from his jacket, handing it to Eve. "Come along now; we're burning daylight."

"We just got back," Eve said. "There's still work to be done."

"I think the little LITs can handle the wrap-up without you just this once," Flynn said. "Say goodbye; we'll see you on Monday."

Before Eve could protest further, Flynn had grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the Annex. Ezekiel shuddered as soon as they left the room.

"What's your problem?" Jake asked.

"It's kind of like watching Mum and Dad, don't you think?" Ezekiel said, a disgusted look on his face.

"I think it's great," Cassandra sighed.

"You _would_," Ezekiel said. "Well, I'm out, too. Goodnight, all."

"Bail before you have to do any more _work_?" Jake accused.

"That's the plan!" Ezekiel called from halfway down the hallway.

Jake, holding the newly recovered artifact, shook his head, looked at Cassandra, and said, "I'm going to go find a place for this guy. You sticking around?"

Cassandra slowly finished pulling her little notebook and a pen out of her bag. "Am I that predictable?"

Cassandra retreated to her favorite corner in the Annex and spent a few hours making notes from the day's case and reading her book from earlier that morning. When she decided she'd had enough, she packed up her things and headed back towards the center of the Annex to make her way home. She rounded the corner into the main room, and a small gasp escaped her lips.

There, in the center of the table, was a vase of carnations, a mix of light red and white and pink. In front of the flowers was a small, brown, stuffed puppy with a heart "spot" over one of its eyes. The puppy held a card with Cassandra's name on it.

Cassandra ran into the main Library, presents in hand, looking for Jake. She loved how big the Library was, but sometimes, she really _hated_ how big the Library was. Not feeling like getting lost in the maze of aisles, she started calling his name.

Jake was asleep on a couch deep in the stacks, but the clicking of Cassandra's shoes against the floor and her voice yelling his name woke him up. He heard her call his name again, his eyes grew wide with worry, and he shot up from his reclined position on the soft couch.

"Cassie!" he called back. "I'm back here. Is everything okay?"

She rounded the corner, finally finding him, and Jake almost smiled at how unbelievably endearing she looked. The small bouquet of flowers was clutched to her chest with one arm, resting in the crook of her elbow. The gold envelope peeked out from her bag, and the stuffed puppy dangled from her free hand. She looked astounded, and Jake almost thought he could see tears forming in her eyes.

"What's this?" she asked, gesturing to the presents in her arms.

"It's your Valentine's present," he said. "It's all kind of cheesy, I know."

"No, it's _wonderful_," she said.

"Well, a girl as great as you deserves a Valentine," he said honestly.

"Is this what Jenkins helped you with this morning?" she asked.

"He intercepted and hid the flowers while we were out on the case," Jake revealed.

Cassandra gingerly put the flowers and the puppy on the floor, leaving her purse with them as she sat down on the edge of the couch next to Jake.

"Jake?" she asked softly, almost afraid to hear the answer. "Is this real, or is this just because I said I'd never had one, and you felt sorry for me?"

Jake hesitated for a moment before noticing how genuinely touched and genuinely nervous she looked. He decided not to lie to her and said, "It's real. It was all in the works before we talked this morning."

She stared at him, lost in thought for just a moment. Then, she met his eyes with hers and used both of her hands to pull him into a kiss. Jake responded immediately, placing a hand on her waist. Their kiss was tender and sweet, everything a first kiss should be, and she clutched his face delicately between her fingertips. Their lips silently separated, but she held his face in place near hers, eyes still shut.

"I'm…not sure I should've done that," she finally whispered.

"Don't you dare regret that," he replied, matching her tone.

"What does this mean?" she asked, finally letting him fall from her grasp.

"Well, I'm hoping this means you'll have dinner with me tomorrow night," he said. She let out a noise that could either be a laugh or a sob, and he finally opened his eyes just in time to see a tear spill down her cheek. He brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. "Hey…hey, don't cry," he whispered.

"Sorry," she said, composing herself. "I'm just a little overwhelmed…and surprised, like when Flynn offered us the jobs at the Library, and…"

"Is that a yes?" he asked, cutting her off before she could ramble herself into oblivion.

"Yes," she grinned. He kissed her again and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

* * *

_Review? :-)_


End file.
